Announcing: TFNW 2021 + Angel Oregon Tech

 

INFORMATION, AGENDA AND TICKETS

 

TechFestNW (TFNW), the Pacific Northwest’s largest gathering of technology and business leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs and investors, announced it will host a one-day, virtual event May 21, 2021. In addition, organizers announced a new partnership with Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) to co-produce Angel Oregon Tech and to host its finale at TFNW 2021.

TFNW has been held annually since 2012 and has grown from a small gathering of local tech startups to one that now attracts entrepreneurs and investors from around the world to Portland with speakers like tech journalist and podcaster Kara Swisher, former Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario and Dollar Shave Club founder Mike Dubin. COVID-19 required the adaptation of 2020’s spring event to a virtual format held in December, which featured more than 60 startups from around the world and speakers such as prominent venture capitalist Roger McNamee and Tektronix president Tami Newcombe.

Angel Oregon Tech (AOTech) is an education program and investment event hosted by OEN, which connects tech entrepreneurs with investors, mentors and fellow founders. This year’s program will begin with a four-week workshop series in March focused on whether and how to raise investment capital, then progress in April to a pitch competition for investment-ready startups. Following due diligence by a pool of individual local investors, finalists will pitch their companies publicly at the AOTech Finale at TFNW, where one will be awarded an angel investment of up to $125K.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with OEN and continuing to innovate around what we think is the single best event for technology entrepreneurs in the Northwest. As Oregon begins to build back from the pandemic, innovation and entrepreneurship will become more important than ever, so we are excited to provide this springboard for local startups,” said Anna Zusman, director of TFNW.

Angel Oregon Tech is an evolution of Angel Oregon, an investment event hosted by OEN from 2005 to 2017. Angel Oregon facilitated the direct investment of $3.4 million into local startups by individual Pacific Northwest investors during its 12-year run, supporting more than 750 local jobs among finalist companies. Unlike its predecessor, AOTech will focus exclusively on the technology sector and offer specialized support for historically underrepresented founders. OEN also produces Oregon Angel Food, an education and investment program focused on the food and beverage sector.

Amanda Oborne, Executive Director of OEN, sees synergy between the two organizations. “The OEN and TechFestNW teams share a belief that innovation, creativity, and a willingness to see with fresh eyes are keys to building inclusive prosperity in Oregon, both for our short-term recovery and in the long-run.” Oborne continues, “joining forces is a great way to offer concrete, practical support and investment opportunities to entrepreneurs, while simultaneously engaging a much broader community in the innovation economy. TFNW is an exciting platform that has always offered high-caliber content, so we’re proud to partner with them and support startups together.”

Information and tickets for all TechFestNW and Angel Oregon Tech events can be found at TechFestNW.com. Entrepreneur and investor applications for Angel Oregon Tech will be open as of February 16th. Standalone tickets for TFNW, which includes the AOTech Finale, will go on sale on March 16th.

For more information, sign up for updates at www.techfestnw.com or email hello@techfestnw.com.